Living Amid A Colonial Heritage

HOME DESIGN '92 - TIMELESS STYLES

November 8, 1992|By Sarah Tippit

Twenty years ago, this Orange County couple, then students living in Richmond, Va., were browsing in a bookstore. There, they found the house plans for Mount Vernon on the Potomac River, an American Georgian classic. And, in the spirit of history, tradition and their colonial roots, they promised each other that some day they'd build that house.

''It really appealed to us because of the way it looked and the kind of lifestyle where you had separate parts of the house but they were all connected,'' she said. ''At that time I can tell you we had no idea we would be building it in Florida. If somebody had told me that, I would not have believed them. That would have been far-fetched in my mind.''

Eventually, work brought them to Florida. They lived in a 1949 Florida-style house. But after they bought a lakefront lot, they decided to follow their instincts. And doggone it if their house today doesn't look like George Washington's.

With modifications, of course. Once they decided to build, they ordered blueprints and had an architect remodel to their specifications. Wood siding became stucco, which is easier to maintain in Florida's hot, muggy weather. Indoor galleries, which would have been difficult to air condition, became outdoor porticoes. A wall of French doors in the living and dining areas take advantage of the lake view and the upstairs features a laundry room. They built two garages: One includes a pool house where their children and friends can congregate, the other has a mother-in-law apartment on top.

And just as the house itself is a hybrid of English, early American and Florida styles, so is the interior. With the help of Winter Park designer Thomas Dunn, the couple incorporated the elegance and proportion of 18th-century Georgian style with furniture styles such as Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Queen Anne. They added the theatrical colors of the Regency period, a time when England was jubilant over its capture of Napoleon in Egypt. Original oil paintings purchased by Dunn in England and collectible blue and white porcelain pieces finish the look. And they edited and brightened everything to mesh with their Florida lifestyle.

''One of the things that frightens people about traditional furniture is that they believe it's austere, cold, colorless and too dark for Florida,'' Dunn said.

''You can have dark furniture in Florida and make it look bright and open by using windows, high ceilings and bright colors,'' Dunn said.

The couple started creating their interior look with a custom hickory floor and dark wood furniture which they liked. But the English colors didn't belong, Dunn said.

''In England a true period room has more muddy colors due to their light, which is different from Florida's,'' Dunn explained. ''They are not clear colors. I love English furniture, but I hate dark, dreary rooms.''

Eventually, they painted the walls yellow. They settled on English linens manufactured for an American market with brighter, clearer colors, predominantly rose and yellow. A wall of French doors overlooking the lake view brought additional light into the room.

A hand-painted foyer ceiling mural of a blue sky with clouds and birds also balances a dark floor and furniture. ''It really opens up the room as you come in,'' she said.

Accessories, although English in flavor, were kept to a minimum, in an attempt to keep the open, flowing feel of the interior.

Had the interior been strictly English, Dunn added, ''there would have been rugs on top of rugs, more tables on which every surface would be covered, a more layered approach.''

They decided to name their house ''Jabberwocky,'' after the poem by Lewis Carroll. ''It has to do with fighting the jabberwock, a monster,'' she said, ''which in essence, means the fear of the unknown. . . . When you build a house it's an extremely apropos attitude to go into it with. . . . It's the byline of our life. We've done a lot of different things,'' she says.

They certainly have - beginning with their big plans that day in the bookstore.